Monochromatic Black on Black

 Hello Readers. I wanted to put together some monochromatic outfits from the clothes on my refashion rack. This mock-neck sweater is a men's medium and my daughter didn't want it. Where these dressy pant's came from is a mystery. I really don't know. Let's make a simple but cool outfit.

I look like I work at an art gallery and I am going to sell you a blank canvas and say it's modern art.

Everything was just too long. The waist and hips fit well but the pant legs were too long for me. (I'm short.) The body and the sleeves of the sweater were too long too. I guess medium men have longer arms than I do. I wanted to shorten the pants and crop the sweater. 

 

I shortened the pant legs and sewed a new hem. 

 

I used my serger to shorten the sweater. I turned it inside out and folded the hem up. This will put the new seam inside the sweater. The serger cuts the excess fabric off as it stitches along. I took about 4 inches out of the body length. I stitched right along the top of the waistband so the new seam will look like it is part of the waistband. 

If you do not have a serger you can still do this. I will show you using the wristbands. I cut the bands off right at the top and set them aside. 

I cut off about 3 inches from the sleeves. Now I need to reattach the wristband. I will have to stretch the wristband as I sew to make them fit together but sweaters are stretchy so that will be easy. 

I put the cuff and the sleeve together with the right sides facing each other. You can use a serger here or use a sewing machine with a zigzag stitch. I am stretching the cuff but not stretching the sleeve. I sewed all the ways around the sleeve and it was put back together.

The length of these pants is great and the waist of the sweater hits right at my waist and it looks like it is my sweater and not some mans. Does the black outfit need a little color? I like the black but I also really like bright colors. Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

***Year End Update***- This is so neutral and basic, this was a great make.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dressember #2-The Sweater Skirt

 Hello Readers. It is super chilly out there and you might be thinking it's too cold for a dress or skirt. But if you wear snuggly warm fabrics you can stay cozy and warm all winter. Today I am focused on heavy sweaters. I found this striped sweaters at a clothes swap. Men's sweaters are great for refashion projects. 

Before and after.

This is a men's sweater and it is large on me. That gives me a little extra fabric to work with. You can find men's sweaters at clothes swaps and thrift stores. You can also cruise Amazon for men's sweaters. (Not a paid ad, just an idea.)

I cut the body of the skirt away from the shoulders and sleeves of the sweater. This will be my new skirt.

I had a plan to hem the cut edge and I describe that here. 

After I used my serger on the cut edge (White thread.) I turned it under and used a zigzag stitch (Purple thread.) to stitch the hem in place. It was a little bumpy and wonky so I ironed it smooth.

I loved the new skirt. The waistband of the sweater was a perfect soft stretchy waistband for my skirt. 

I am not done with this sweater. I also cut the sleeves off. I had an idea for those too.

I was going to make mittens from those sleeves. The wrist cuff would still be the wrist cuff but my hand would be inside the sleeve. I traced (With 1/2" extra room around my hands.) my hands with chalk and cut out the mitten shapes. I cut 2 mitten shapes for each hand.

I used my serger to close up the cut edges. I stitched with the mittens inside out and then when I was done sewing I flipped them right side out and they were ready to wear. 

There was enough material at the neckline to make a kid pair of mittens too. I cut and stitched them together the same way.

Did my youngest like his homemade mittens? He really did! And they were nice for walking on a cold windy day. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year End Note From Chickie- It's only been a few weeks but I can't waist to wear this again.

The $1 Outfit

 Hello Readers. I love bright colors but I always fall back into the habit of wearing black. Black is easy to wear, it can be dressed up or down, and my dog's hair doesn't show on it. I think that is a huge plus.

Let's start by talking about the sweater. This was my husbands sweater. It is from a job he had about 5 years ago. He got laid off and didn't have any emotional attachment to this sweater or company. I liked the style and color. The size and the logo were not working for me so that is what I wanted to change.

The first thing I did was change the size. I am smaller than my husband so this sweater needed to be smaller too.  

I wanted to cover the logo. I was afraid if I tried to unpick the stitches I would ruin the sweater. I had this big flower I could use. But where did this flower come from? That's a good question.

This flower came attached to a Tieks shoe box. My daughter bought a pair of shoes a while ago and this flower was around the box like a bow on a gift box. (This is the kind of thing that I keep and figure out how to use later.) The flower had an elastic band attached to it. I cut the elastic off the flower. Snip, snip.

I used a large safety pin to wear this flower like a broach. It covered the logo perfectly and I was able to take it off and wash the sweater.

These pants were about $1 at a bag sale. (Do your thrift stores have bag sales? It is usually whatever fits in a bag for a set price.) These pants were almost working but the waist was the worst. That's OK, I can fix that.

When I alter pants and jeans I usually make new side seams to change the size of the pants. The only difficulty with this method if the metal rivets. In this picture you can see where I marked the rivet so I could sew around it. If you sew over the rivet you will break your needle and possibly damage the shaft of the sewing machine. (I have done both of those things.)

I did not need to drastically change the size I just needed to alter the fit. 

 

 

These black patterned jeans just needed a little tweak to make them fit well at the waist. I hate when the waistband gapes open so fixing these made me feel better. I also tapered the calves to make these into skinny jeans.

 Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Chickie's Year End Review- I liked these pants but outgrew them with all my Covid snacking. I still wear the sweater a lot.